Part of that hemp movement is growing with projects like the first ever NoCo Hemp Expo.

Beegle, who manages his hemp company from Loveland, organized the expo to bring together hemp organizations in a variety of forms; hemp food, beer, clothing, backpacks, homes and more.

Advertisement

The hemp expo will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at Ricky B's Sports Bar and Music in Windsor.

And the first thing to make clear: Hemp is not marijuana. You can't smoke it and get high.

"Conservatives and progressives should all support hemp," Beegle said. "It's good for the economy, it's environmentally friendly, you can do all kinds of things with it. You can't get high from it. Putting it in your body is actually extremely good for you."

Morris Beegle, owner of the Colorado Hemp Co. and the organizer of the upcoming NoCo Hemp Expo, poses Tuesday at his Loveland home with a variety of hemp products. (Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Hemp is genetically similar to marijuana but contains less than 0.3 percent of the psychoactive chemical in marijuana; tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), according to the Marijuana Policy Project (regulatemarijuana.org/hemp).

Hemp was illegal to grow because it was grouped with marijuana when it first became illegal and was again grouped with the drug when it was legalized in Colorado in November 2013. It has always been acceptable to import hemp. The U.S. market for industrial hemp fiber and seed products is $400 million annually.

"This is going to turn into a local boom," Beegle said. "We're at the forefront in Colorado."

Featured speakers at the expo will include Ryan Loflin, who in 2013 grew the first hemp crop in over 50 years; Summer Star Haske and Barbara Fillipone, who own Envirotextiles in Glenwood Springs; and Doug Fine, who just released his new book, "Hemp Bound."

Around 40 sponsors are participating in the event and 15 to 20 vendors will exhibit their wares.

"My thing is to kind of bring more elements to the situation than what has gone on thus far," Beegle said. "This being the first one, I have no doubt this will be a full house."

Refreshments that have hemp will include a hemp-based beer brewed by High Hops Brewery in Windsor, burgers, chili and lasagna. There will also be other typical food like hamburgers and hot dogs sans hemp.

Jason Downing with Musketeer Gripweed will perform toward the end of the evening.

Colorado Industrial Hemp Supply will be one Loveland/Fort Collins company present at the expo.

After the High Park fire in 2012, John Patterson — a local builder — started looking into hemp as a home-building material. He found that hemp and lime act as a natural flame retardant that smolders but doesn't burn. Hemp is also antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-pest and rodent, and biodegradable.

Patterson partnered with Melissa and Josh Rabe of Loveland to create Colorado Industrial Hemp Supply, which developed three materials for building houses.

"We put together a thermal wall system," Melissa Rabe said. "It allows the house to breathe similar to a Gore Tex jacket. If you put on a trash bag in the rain, how do you feel? Sticky and humid. We wrap houses in plastic that then need air systems to filter air through."

Their system of hemp-based drywall, insulation and siding allows air to flow through a home like an adobe house.

Morris believes hemp will be legal at the federal level in the next few years.

He plans to move the NoCo Hemp Expo to a larger venue next year and eventually be at the Budweiser Events Center.

As to why hemp has been illegal to grow all these years, Beegle said he believes it's propaganda that has been going on for 40 years.

"Public opinion would approve it. It's the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and DOJ (Department of Justice). They've lost the war; it's time for them to pony up and take it off the Schedule I list. The evidence is overwhelming," Morris said.

Beegle is opening an online store that will sell hemp products. His dream is to open a hemp superstore that will have hemp products, a cafe with hemp food and drink and other Colorado products like honey and salsa. "Kind of that natural organic local-type vibe," Beegle said.